the attitude of the South toward that movement? As has
been seen, this Negro exodus, by causing a shortage of labor,
threatened the economic well-being of many parts of the South. This
being so, it is readily seen that those regions so affected could not
ignore the movement. In fact, when the pressure was felt, keen
interest in the whole matter was aroused and in some cases even much
anxiety and apprehension were manifested. In this mood the South
directed its attention to this unusual situation and resolved to meet
the emergency by stopping the migration itself instead of first trying
to remove its causes. In order to accomplish this it was necessary to
use force, which was of two kinds, namely, (1) force in the form of
moral suasion, and (2) certain devices which rest on physical
strength.[78] The former weapon employed to check the movement took
the form of strong and persuasive appeals on the part of Southern
newspapers and Southern leaders to Negroes who were either leaving or
who anticipated leaving the South. In these appeals the Negroes were
told that they were better off in the South, that the southern white
man was their friend and that living conditions in the North were far
more difficult than those in the South. They cited as examples of this
the cold climate of the North, the hard and heavy work, and asserted
that even though wages in the North were high the cost of living was
still higher. The Negroes, therefore, would do well to remain where
they were.[79] In the employment of this weapon to check the movement
the newspapers took the lead and carried on a well-organized campaign
to frighten the Negroes out of the notion of leaving the South. Some
papers carefully circulated false reports to the effect that many
Negroes were returning to their homes because of unexpected hardships
in the North. Others told of thousands of Negro men dying of cold and
hunger in Northern cities, where the climate was so severe that
icicles hung from one's nose and ears and one's breath actually turned
to snow as it was exhaled.[80] These appeals and false reports,
however, had no effect in checking the movement, and the South,
therefore, was compelled to resort to more drastic means in order to
achieve its end.

The first repressive move made by the South to check the movement was
that against the labor agents of the North, who undoubtedly were the
chief instrumentalities through which the migration was kept in
operation. T